Trust For a Masked Man
by FoxyIvy
Summary: It should be easy for Zuko to manipulate Katara to get The Avatar once they land in Ba Sing Se, but an already set attraction towards her causes him more problems than what he originally expected. Zutara/Blutara. Semi AU.


Taking hold of her parka, she pulled it off and threw it down on the other side of the room in a careless fashion. Letting out a long sigh, she rubbed her eyes that stung slightly from being open for so long without a hint of sleep and stripped herself down to her under wrappings. She'd been longing for the feeling of a nice warm bed and at least five to six hours of rest, though she could go for much more.

They had just arrived at Ba Sing Se while running away from the Fire Army. Spending one's day running for countless hours and then having to sleep on the cold ground certainly wasn't an ideal way of life; not to mention having to do this for over a week and a half. Barely, just barely, had they managed to have the Fire Nation lose them on a false trail and arrive at Ba Sing Se. It was a place they hadn't exactly expected them to go, and thankfully many of the inhabitants were already hostile enough towards the Fire Nation that they would hold out a while before entering when they heard news of them there. For now they could rest in peace for a few weeks and perhaps find Appa before leaving. Or so they hoped.

She shifted herself comfortably into bed, but was only able to enter a light sleep due to not being able to shake the feeling that there was a presence nearby…

* * *

Shifting uncomfortably against the wall at his back, he held his breath and tightened his blue mask as a few guards of the Dai Li passed by. It was the usual trip for the banished prince, and despite its familiarity he became most wary when trying to pass into the Upper tier. Thankfully, though, the wall was lined with thick greenery, and a large tree was located right next to the wall, one he could both hide under and climb up.

Unfortunately for Zuko and his uncle, working with the lowest paying jobs, even if together, was not enough to afford their expenses. He made a roundabout trip every few weeks to steal something of good enough value for them to live off of for a while longer. Zuko particularly stuck to the Middle Tier, it being the easiest to get into while the people still had enough wealth to have something worth enough money. Recently, though, he felt the need to indulge in the Upper tier before suspicions became too high in the Middle.

He could steal from the people in his own tier, but the treasures they held were few and important to them, and while Zuko would never admit it, he had always found it shameful when he had to steal from the poor. Perhaps it was because of this and the fact that he held a grudge against the wealthy here; the ones who could sit back idly with their money and hold an air of haughtiness around the poor that he found himself wondering only into the Middle and Upper tiers for his 'dirty deeds'. _I used to be just like the wealthy._ He pushed that thought immediately from his mind and grew a scowl on his face._ I'm a Prince, they are peasants, and it's simply now that I'm stuck in an unfortunate position._ He reprimanded to himself, although halfheartedly. Fearing that lingering on his thoughts and longer would lead to him becoming so distracted he would be caught; he focused harder on the passing Dai Li.

The guards-as Zuko had begun to notice while traveling here-were not as spaced out around the walls as they usually were, but instead seemed to be grouping near each entrance, talking hurriedly amongst themselves. He was grateful that it meant less chance of him being caught at his particular position, but he also had suspicions as to what was causing the excitement.

As the last guard of the Dai Li passed by, he quickly hauled himself onto the limbs of the tree and began to climb to the top of it until all that was left was a wall to scale. It took no time to reach the top, having memorized the good grips on the wall already. Giving a hurried look at either side of the top of the wall to make sure no guards were coming, and that it was clear below, he began to climb down the wall and onto the exact same type of tree on the other side.

Upon midway of descending the tree, he heard the pattering of feet and whispers between two men. Immediately freezing, he pushed himself close to the trunk of the tree and bit back a curse. They've seen me. Automatically his hands inched nearer and nearer towards his duo swords, preparing to withdraw them at any second.

The two men came closer, and Zuko's teeth were beginning to hurt from being tightly clenched. As the whispering grew louder, he strained himself to hear; hoping that by now the Dai Li wouldn't be stupid enough to give away their position if they'd truly seen him.

"Have you heard? The Avatar has just arrived!" Was it wrong that his thoughts immediately turned first to the Waterbending Girl? The one who permeated his thoughts every now and then when he had the time to think clearly? He knew he should have felt ashamed that he'd let the girl entrance his thoughts so often, even now when it seemed like the Avatar had just handed himself over to Zuko. _Focus Zuko, The Avatar will be the one to get you out of this position… But what about Zhao? Will father accept me back?_ He bit his lip as uneasiness rolled through his stomach as Zhao's previous words on him and his father's relationship coursed through his mind. _No!_ He grits his teeth._ I have to catch The Avatar, father will accept me!_ He bit back a growl and strained harder to hear.

"Are you serious!" The second man replied louder. "How'd he end up in the Upper tier?" _Good, perhaps I could find him tonight?_

_No, I can't now, not when he's got three other people on his side._

_But they're weakened, surely, and its night. They'll never expect it._

_But as soon as the Dai Li hear the sounds of fighting they're sure to come. Besides, you have no clue where they're located._

_But I've got a general idea._ From doing some exploring of the Upper Tier at night, he knew the general location of most places, and that included the visiting houses.

_ But which one? And what if he's located in some officials house?_

"Well, he_ is_ the Avatar." Zuko just barely heard the man's reply, too caught in his own conflicting thoughts to care.

_And what officials does he know well enough to let him stay?_

_Are you even remembering what you came here for? Just steal some damn jewelry or something and get out._

_I'm going to do both._ He scowled and turned his attention back to the guards.

"Does this mean there will be more guards?" Zuko resisted letting out a moan at the idea of his trips through the tiers becoming harder than they already were.

"Maybe, I bet he's got the damn Fire Nation on his hide." _Oh wonderful, just what I needed._ His lips set themselves in a thin line. He knew it would be a while before they entered the city to capture The Avatar. _And by then I'll make sure to have him. Unless it would be better to follow them when they run away from the city, away from The Fire Nation. At least then there won't be guards around, and me and Uncle will have to leave when the Fire Nation comes anyway. All I'll do is check to see if I can find them, and then steal, and then leave to plan later._

"Yeah, but you know they aren't foolish enough to enter with ferocity." By now the two had rounded the corner of the tree and were walking out of hearing range. He only caught a couple more words and then gave up listening.

For another minute he waited against the tree, and then hesitantly went down the rest of it and peered through the leaves. He saw nobody coming in any certain direction, so he risked running quickly to the nearest house before hiding behind it. He repeated this several more times before he reached near the center of the tier. From there, it branched off in several directions, and each one went to a particular section.

Typically, he preferred the section at his right, where the houses were less grand and didn't have any guards around. Just about every house here had no fear of being broken into, and it was because of that that people so casually left doors unlocked or windows open._ Fools._ But the richer houses always had a few guards around them, and he never once risked those.

Traveling through the right section, he found a house that was particularly suitable for what he wanted to do. The basement window was wide enough to fit him, and while it had a lock; it had become so rusted with no use that he could slide the window up with ease.

He memorized the location, telling himself he'd visit later after he took a peek at The Avatar's living quarters. He could steal something right then, but typically he preferred to get out of there as soon as possible once he stole, and holding a stolen item while taking more time to look for the Avatar wasn't exactly the greatest plan. _I'd better hurry up and find him._

Thankfully, the visiting section was right at the very end of this one, where the smallest visiting houses started and eventually led to bigger ones for the obviously wealthy._ Figures, it's like there's three tiers here as well._

He looked hurriedly among the visiting houses; a fear in the back of his mind of being caught growing larger by the minute. It was quite easy, thankfully, to tell which ones were inhabited and not, just by the simple fact that the ones not inhabited had a 'for rent' sign on the lawn. The unfortunate fact was, was that there was no possible way of knowing which of the inhabited houses did hold The Avatar unless he actually went inside and saw for himself. _What the hell was I thinking?_ He nearly snarled to himself.

He was just about to give up when he found a house that held a window with no blinds down. Deciding to take a risk, he cautiously went up to the window and peered in. The sight before him filled the pit of his stomach with something akin to glee, and perhaps something more. There in her bed lay the Waterbending girl, her face bathing within the moonlight. With her there, that meant the Avatar was there with her. _So I have found them!_ He tried to tell himself that that something else he was feeling was just his imagination, and had nothing to do with the girl before his sight.

He had only stared at her for a few minutes when she shifted within her bed. Turning over, she opened her eyes and caught his. He froze, and swallowed hard, but made no move to run away. _Stay calm, she has no idea what your true identity is with the mask on. Leave now, and she'll probably take you as an intruder and tell her friends or some guards and then you'll be caught and your cover lost._

She shifted out of bed and moved closer towards him, her eyes wide with disbelief, as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. He tensed visibly, wondering that even if he did stay here and showed her he meant no harm if she'd still tell somebody. He noticed one hand had reached out and grabbed her water skin pouch and open it for use, but she did not bring any water out.

Finally she reached the window, and slowly he lifted his arms to show he had no weapons. _Hopefully she won't notice the swords_. Her eyes turned more curious now, and seeing her up closer he could see the darkened circles below them. _Perhaps if she weren't as tired she would have attacked me?_ Cautiously she opened the window, and the two of them stared at each other for the course of a couple of minutes, neither knowing how to react exactly. Finally she parted her lips and spoke.

"What are you?"

* * *

**AN: So I pretty much had to work with the fact that it's incredibly hard to get through the Middle, and Upper tiers. In this particular story, the walls aren't as high nor as highly fortified like in the real Ba Sing Se, otherwise Zuko have absolutely no ability to travel from one side of the tier to the other. That's partly what I meant when I said this story is AUish. Joo Dee also will not be making an appearance nor is The Avatar here to tell the King how to win the war. They're there to relax and find Appa.**

**Anways, any suggestions for this story, please give them. I have a general idea of where I want this to go, but I could always use some help. If you have any questions, present them in the review and I'll answer them next chapter (that is, if I get any at all ;_;).**

**Also, for those who are still interested in my other stories from before, just know I might not continue them. I simply don't have any real clue as to how to continue it without making the world way too Auish and the characters OOC (which I've already done anyways). I'm thinking of putting it up for adoption, so if anyone's interested, I'd prefer it if you'd note me rather than saying it in a review.**

**I enjoy any constructive criticism, so please give it if you want to.**


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